CFP: Barth’s theological exegesis 38th International Barth Conference in The Netherlands

Since the 1980’s, there has been a rich tradition of annual international Karl-Barth-Tagungen (Karl Barth Conferences) in the Netherlands. At these conferences, people interested in Karl Barth’s theology from all over the world, but mainly from The Netherlands and Germany, have met and discussed dialectical theology: renowned scholars, students, and pastors alike. Until recently, theContinue reading “CFP: Barth’s theological exegesis 38th International Barth Conference in The Netherlands”

Book Note: Embodied Souls, Ensouled Bodies

In the last several decades, theological anthropology has witnessed a Christocentric turn. Whether it was Ray Anderson’s claim that “only the humanity of Christ… discloses the radical form of true humanity” (1982), John Zizioulas’s understanding that “the mystery of man reveals itself fully only in the light of Christ” (1975), or Millard Erickson’s belief thatContinue reading “Book Note: Embodied Souls, Ensouled Bodies”

Agape and the Long Defeat – George Hunsinger

Saturday’s first plenary was delivered by George Hunsinger. He is the McCord Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He earned his degrees at Stanford, Harvard, and Yale. He is most noted for being a leading expert on Karl Barth. His paper brought together two, (to my knowledge) conversation partners that have never beenContinue reading “Agape and the Long Defeat – George Hunsinger”

Views on God’s Wrath in Romans 1

This week I’m preaching on Romans 1:18-32 – probably one of the most culturally offensive passages of scripture – but also one of the most important for it shows us the reality of God’s wrath against sinful humanity. One of the more “offensive” parts is that God is a God of wrath. Culture hates this.Continue reading “Views on God’s Wrath in Romans 1”

Missional Preaching in a Post-Christendom World

How can preaching inspire and shape a church to share the goodness of God in Jesus Christ with neighbors near and far, in words and deeds? How can reaching equip and send the people of God to be the people of God in the world and for the world? Because the only way the worldContinue reading “Missional Preaching in a Post-Christendom World”

Faith, Freedom, and The Spirit

Several years ago Paul Molnar wrote a book on Divine Freedom and the doctrine of the Immanent Trinity – now he adds to his works on the Trinity by offering us a book on Freedom and the economic Trinity (specifically in Barth, Torrance, and contemporary theology). Summary Molnar’s aim in this book is to exploreContinue reading “Faith, Freedom, and The Spirit”

Karl Barth’s Letter to Diognetus

The god of the philosophers. A lot of people have beef with this “god.” With good reason too – God cannot come to be known through pure rationality. With that much I agree. I do believe that philosophy has an important role in articulating our theological convictions, but I would never say that philosophical reflectionContinue reading “Karl Barth’s Letter to Diognetus”

Karl Barth on The Meaning of the Lord’s Supper

In laying out Barth’s position on the Lord’s Supper we cannot properly speak of “Barth’s position” because Barth ended his Church Dogmatics (henceforth CD) before touching upon the Lord’s Supper (henceforth LS) extensively,[1] thus any reconstruction of Barth’s position is just that, a reconstruction and not an exposition. However what we can say with certaintyContinue reading “Karl Barth on The Meaning of the Lord’s Supper”

Jesus Christ and the Essence of Christianity

It is well known that Adolf von Harnack along with other German theologians of the early 20th century promoted a “return” to the essence of Christianity. They believed that through the centuries Christianity had been perverted by Hellenistic philosophy. True Christianity – the essence of Christianity – was found in the teachings of Jesus, notContinue reading “Jesus Christ and the Essence of Christianity”

Patcum Salutis and Social Contract Theory

Yesterday I went to ETS Far West 2014 and heard several really good papers. Unlike ETS the last few times, there were some really good post discussion conversations. One of my favorite conversations happened after a paper on the Pactum Salutis (covenant of redemption) and subordinationism. A student from Westminster Seminary (California) presented a paperContinue reading “Patcum Salutis and Social Contract Theory”